The Asylum
by Spunky0ne
Summary: A ginger-haired man awakes in an asylum, convicted of murder and sentenced to prison if he ever regains his sanity. He soon realizes that not everything is as it seems at the mental facility. Joining with some of the other inmates, he makes a desperate attempt to gain his freedom, but secrets can be deadly...Ichigo/Byakuya, Bazz-B/Renji, Grimmjow/Tetsuya...yaoi, mpregs
1. Awakening

**The Asylum**

 **By Spunky0ne**

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 **Prisoner KIH182016N wakes from a coma to learn that he is a murderer, responsible for the violent deaths of five people. He arrives at the Aomatsu Correctional Center, an asylum for the criminally insane and soon learns that escape is likely impossible. But a meeting with another inmate leads him to wonder if everything around him is a horrible maniacal lie...or if he is as insane as his handlers tell him he is...Ichigo/Byakuya, Bazz-B/Renji, Grimmjow/Tetsuya mpregs**

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 **Chapter 1: Awakening**

"Can you hear me?" a stony male voice said, stirring the ginger-haired man lying on the examination table in front of him.

The man groaned and shifted, then his eyes flew open and widened in distress as he spotted the plain, white room he laid in, the medical implements on a nearby table, and the heavy restraints that wrapped around his wrists, waist and ankles. He loosed a sound of dismay and began to struggle, making the white clad, pale, black-haired man leaning over him frown disapprovingly.

"Be still and listen," the man admonished him, "I know that you are confused. I will explain. You are prisoner KIH182016N. You are a criminal, convicted on five counts of murder. You have been ordered to undergo treatment here at the Aomatsu Center until you are deemed sane and can begin serving out your sentence in prison."

"Wh-why don't I remember anything?" the prisoner asked in a shaky voice, "I don't remember anything at all!"

"It is probable that the reason you don't remember anything is that, at your sentencing, you became violent again. You grabbed a security guard's gun and took him as a hostage. You were shot in the head while trying to escape and became comatose for six months. You have awakened slowly, over the past several weeks and were deemed cognizant enough to be transferred from the hospital to this correctional facility. If you will remain calm, I will release your bindings and allow you to stand, if you can."

The ginger-haired prisoner nodded uncertainly in agreement, watching as the other man's icy, white fingers slowly undid the restraints, freeing him. He sat up cautiously, breathing slowly as spots danced in front of his eyes and his vision went dark for a moment. He felt the other man's thin, bony arm curl around him, and he slid his legs over the edge of the examination table, then very slowly started putting weight on his shaky legs.

"Very good," the other man complimented him, "I am surprised you are on your feet so quickly. Now, your legs will be weak, so I will take you to your room in this wheelchair. Sit down."

The prisoner placed a hand on the arm of the wheelchair and with the other man's help, lowered his unsteady body into the seat. The man crossed the room and pulled a wooden chair over, positioning it in front of the prisoner.

"What's my name?" the prisoner asked.

"All prisoners are referred to by their prisoner numbers," the man told him, "You are KIH182016N."

"That's going to be kind of awkward," the prisoner mused.

"Well, if you wish, you can use a descriptive name. That is what the inmates here tend to do."

"A descriptive name?"

"Based on a physical characteristic," the man prompted him, "for example, your hair. You may be called Ginger."

"I don't know if I like that."

"Well, you are rather unremarkable except for that feature."

"Hey, that's a little harsh, isn't it?" the prisoner complained.

"You don't have any other outstanding features," the other man explained, "I wasn't insulting you. Now, my name is Doctor Falk. I will be your handler here. You will meet with me frequently to undergo testing and treatment until you are well enough to be transferred to the prison. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah," Ginger said, looking down at his wrists, "What's with these silver bracelet things?"

He tried to slide one off, but found the device seemed fused to his flesh.

"All inmates are fitted with those bands," Falk explained, "They are used for control, should you become troublesome. Just follow the rules and you will not have to suffer the consequences. Break the rules and you will learn quickly how troublemakers are dealt with."

"So, what are the rules?" Ginger asked.

"Adhere to the posted schedules. Do not interact with the guards. Do not try to escape. Do not engage in sex, use of drugs or any form of violence."

"Well, what am I supposed to do all day then, if I can't do any of that?" asked Ginger, smirking.

"Learn to play cards," Falk answered glibly, "It is almost time for lunch. I will take you to the common room and you can meet some of the other inmates."

"Are they all killers too?" Ginger asked.

"Most of them. Some are druggies who have destroyed their brains and some were committed by their families before they reached the point of murder."

"Hey uh, does my family get to visit?"

Falk studied his face carefully for a moment.

"Those were the five people you killed," he said quietly.

"Oh," Ginger said, a twinge of distress touching his insides, "Damn...I really don't remember anything at all."

"Maybe it is better that you don't," Falk suggested, "You did take their lives in an unusually grisly fashion."

"Aren't you supposed to be trying to cure me so I can be sent to prison?" Ginger mused, "You don't really sound like a guy who wants to help me."

"Oh, I do want to help you," Falk assured him, looking at him through unreadable cobalt eyes, "I just don't know if your conscious mind can bear what your subconscious convinced you to do."

The doctor moved into position behind the wheelchair and pushed Ginger out into the hallway. Like the treatment room, the hallway was brightly lit and had stark, white walls and heavy wooden railings for recovering inmates to lean on as they walked. They passed through sturdy double doors, then paused at a checkpoint, where the guards greeted the doctor and regarded his wheelchair-bound companion with dour, unfriendly looks. Ginger felt a wave of relief at passing through another set of double doors and into the living section of the facility.

"This will be your room," Falk said, stopping at a room that had his number printed on a placard beside the closed door, "Inside, there is a bed, bedding, a sink and a toilet."

"Cozy," Ginger sighed unhappily, gazing in at the plain, nearly empty room as Falk opened the door to show him.

"We have to keep the implements inside sparse to discourage escapes and suicide attempts," the doctor explained.

"Is it that bad here?"

Falk's frown deepened.

"Only for those who do not know how to obey the rules. As long as you behave, you needn't worry."

He closed the door to Ginger's room and wheeled him further down to a large room where a number of men in white yukatas and marked with the odd silver bands sat at tables or on a few sofas and chairs, engaging in various activities.

"Over there by the window is Shadow," Falk informed Ginger, indicating a delicate looking, blue-eyed man, "He barely speaks at all. He was framed for killing his parents and even though he was cleared of the crime, he's never been the same. The guy with the mohawk is Buzzard. Watch out for him. He killed, dismembered and ate his victims. The guy at the table with him is Tats. You can guess why. His brain was fried by drugs and too much alcohol. The blue haired guy is Kit...another cold blooded killer, like you. An assassin. The guy talking to himself in the corner is Brains."

Ginger stiffened and his breath caught for a moment as a very pale man with lovely, sad grey eyes stepped into the common room. His silken black hair was pulled back into a ponytail except for a few stray hairs that fell around his face and despite his simple clothing, he looked almost regal.

"That is Sakura. He is the son of a wealthy family who was abducted and tortured to the point of insanity. His family had him institutionalized after all attempts to cure him failed. He is really only dangerous to himself. He has tried a number of times to commit suicide. Go on now. There will be an announcement when it is time to eat."

Ginger nodded and wheeled himself to a nearby table, where he studied the magazines that had been placed there.

"Those are very old," a male voice said from a short distance away.

Ginger looked up and found the man known as Sakura looking down at him.

"You are likely to have already read them."

"Not that I would remember," Ginger said, smiling up at him, "I'm Ginger."

"Sakura," the grey-eyed man introduced himself, "Would you like something better to read or do you prefer company?"

"It'd be nice to have someone to talk to," Ginger said reaching up to run his fingers through the ginger spikes of his hair, "although since my memory's fucked up, I don't know what to talk about. Can you tell me about this place?"

"I only came here recently, myself," Sakura answered, looking around, "It's a new facility. I don't think any of us have been here for more than a month."

"Do you know what city we're in? I know I come from Karakura Town. I saw it on the chart my doctor had. Where are you from?"

"I'm not sure," Sakura answered, looking through a sliding glass door that led out to a small courtyard garden, "Would you like to take a walk outside?"

"S-sure," Ginger answered, reaching up to move the wheels on his wheelchair.

"Here, let me," Sakura offered.

He wheeled Ginger outside and along a little trail that meandered around the courtyard. The expanse of green grass and the splashing of koi in the central pond gave the area a tranquil feel and pleasant scents of flowers drifted over their senses as Sakura pushed him along.

"Did you say you don't remember anything?" Sakura asked.

"That's right," Ginger affirmed, "The doc told me I killed my family, but I don't remember doing it. And it makes me sick to think of killing someone. It all feels pretty unreal. But I can't say I didn't do it. Everything's kind of a blur. I mean, I remember things like how to tie my shoes and stuff like that, but things that happened to me? Things that I did? It's all a big blank. How about you?"

"I also have no memory from before, and what I find curious is that none of the rest do either."

"Really?" Ginger asked, frowning, "That's weird. The doc said I don't remember because I was shot in the head and was in a coma. I just started waking up recently."

"Have you been working with a speech therapist? You speak very well for someone who just came out of a coma recently."

"I can't walk."

"Yes, immobilization can do that," Sakura agreed, "But you seem very together for a man just out of a coma."

"What're you trying to say here," Ginger asked, smiling, "Are you paranoid or something? You think it's all a plot?"

"Well, I just think it's strange that none of the inmates here remember their names, where they are from or committing any crimes. There are explanations, of course. But if you begin to probe their stories, I think you'll see that something is off."

"Does your family come to see you?"

"No," Sakura replied, "No one ever has any visitors, not even legal counsel...not yet, that I've seen, anyway."

"And why are you telling me all of this?" asked Ginger, "It's not like there's anything I can do about it."

Sakura stopped under a tree at the edge of the koi pond and looked down at the fish swimming beneath the surface.

"I don't know," he confessed softly, "It just helps to talk to someone about it...to see that I'm not alone in my suspicions."

"Well, even if you aren't, what are we supposed to do? I mean, they've got us locked up good and we'll be punished if we start poking around and asking questions."

"Yes, I know."

"You say that like it's happened to you already."

"It has."

An icy chill went through Ginger's insides.

"What did they do to you?"

"I would call it an electric shock, but it wasn't electricity," Sakura explained, "Electricity if used to cause the level of pain and body reaction I felt should have left a burn mark, but this didn't. And I felt a shudder in the bands on my wrists when they employed the shocks. More recently, they resorted to just a regular beating. I think they figured out that I learned something from that first punishment. But I suppose if they thought I knew anything truly important, they would empty my mind again, as happened to Shadow."

"Shadow," Ginger repeated, the quiet one who..."

"Was accused of killing his parents, then exonerated," Sakura finished, "Yes. I shared what I knew with him and he confessed to me that even with the bands he wore, he was able to do something strange. He could alter his body so that it was hard to see, except in direct light. But just after he told me this, the guards took him away, and when he came back, he didn't speak for days. He is close to Kit, who thinks himself Shadow's protector. Kit tells me that he doesn't remember being able to do that, and when he tried to see if he could, he felt awful pain at just the attempt."

"That's pretty suspicious."

"Ginger," Sakura warned him, "you need to be careful who you talk to, and about what. The guards do not hold back. If they even suspect anything, they act immediately, and we have no way to oppose anything they do."

"Then, what _are_ we supposed to do?" asked Ginger impatiently, "We're just supposed to sit here and let them lie to us?"

"They have us in a compromised position," Sakura said sadly, "We don't actually know if we did anything wrong or not. We aren't sure where we come from or why we might really have been imprisoned. If we are not here for crimes or true insanity, then why are we here and who is imprisoning us?"

"Great, so all we have are questions and no way to get the answers?"

"I think we can get some answers," Sakura suggested, "We just have to know who to ask and how to get them to answer us. I would start with Brains."

"The guy who was off in a corner, talking to himself?" Ginger mused, "Why him?"

"He receives regular treatments like my first punishment. And whenever he comes back from them, he stops talking for a few days, then starts talking to himself again. I listen sometimes to his ramblings, and sometimes he says things that make me think he knows something."

"Is that right?"

"Yes. I heard him say some words and I tried to quietly find out about them, but our media is severely restricted here and so I don't know what the words mean."

"What were the words?"

"They were kurosaki, soul society and zanpakutou. The words feel familiar."

"Yeah," Ginger agreed, sitting up straighter in the wheelchair, "to me too! Sakura..."

"KIH182016N and KBS222016N," a male voice said from behind them, "it is time for lunch. Come."

Sakura gave Ginger a warning glance and nodded obediently, turning the wheelchair back and starting towards the building.

"You weren't teasing our new guy with your paranoid suspicions, were you?" the guard asked, making a visible shiver go through Sakura's slender form.

"Hey, take it easy on him. He was just being nice and showing me around," Ginger said in a placating tone.

"Ginger, don't!" Sakura warned him.

Ginger cried out in shock as one of the guards slapped him across the face and glared down at him.

"Don't talk to them!" Sakura insisted, "We aren't allowed to interact with them."

"The asshole talked to us!" Ginger complained.

Ginger gasped as the guard grabbed him by the front of the shirt and dragged him onto shaking legs. He drove a fist into the prisoner's midsection and Ginger dropped like a stone at his feet, panting and trying to catch his breath. He caught a glimpse of Sakura's worried expression as everything went hazy and began to disappear.

"Don't be a troublemaker," the guard said, aiming a kick at his head and sending everything into an explosion of endless blackness.


	2. Balances

**Chapter 2: Balances**

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 **(Thanks going out to Willow (So glad you are enjoying the story!), PrivateCaller (I will keep the chapters moving. My muse is hooked also.), Winterheart2000 (I'm glad you like it. :) Thanks for chiming in.), Picklez80 (Okay, more is delivered, and there's more where that came from too!), Periwinkle (My muse is always working on new angles or how to put the characters in new predicaments. Wouldn't want their swords to have time to get dull. lol), Lovebot1573 (Thanks, I will!), Aizenfan6969 (Ichigo does tend to act without thinking, but he will find that doesn't go over so well here...), Nyma (I don't plan to let it lag. I feel very motivated by the fresh storyline and all of the back and forth chat it's bringing.), Adalie Delacroix (Damn, you're right about the paranoia thing! I get that creepy feeling inside a lot while writing this. But it's an addicting story. Can't seem to stop myself.), Kenni-bun bun (Our boys will pick up some more clues in this chapter, as will some other important folks who have an interets in them.), Hisuiryuu (I hope so! I will do my best.), Bubblymoon (More story and answers will be along. This story is like my favorite popcorn right now. Can't put it down!), and Gemnika (You are one bright kitty! *winks* The boys will be chewing on little tidbits they discover too. I think it won't be long before they have an inkling of the trouble they're in. But...what will they be able to do about it is the looming question.) Enjoy the chapter! Love, Spunky)**

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Soft, echoing sounds began to break through the dull haze around Ginger's resting body. He vaguely recognized the voice as that of the man called Sakura, but the sounds he made weren't words, just soft issuances of pain. Ginger tried to move, but felt paralyzed. He deepened his breathing and tried again, testing his fingers and toes, arms and legs, then attempted to turn his head. But the only thing he could do in the end was to coax his heavy lidded eyes the slightest bit open. Doing so revealed a blurred image of a guard, his clothing opened and his naked front pressed up against that of a paler, more slender man, whose white yukata was opened and whose face wore a pained expression.

 _Sakura?_

 _What is that guy doing to Sakura?_

 _What the hell is going on?_

He wondered if it might be drugs coming in through the IV he had spotted in his arm, but as the life came back into his body, the sounds of the panting, grunting guard that mingled with Sakura's muted sounds of distress only continued. After several more minutes of straining against Sakura's trapped form, the guard stiffened and his cruel mouth bit down on the pale man's shoulder, near the throat. Sakura's body quivered for a moment, then relaxed as the guard went still, catching his breath, then withdrew, giving Ginger a momentary glimpse at Sakura's naked, bruised and seed splashed front. The guard gave a contented sigh and nodded at the waiting prisoner.

"You have an hour, until I finish my watch," the guard said quietly.

Sakura said nothing aloud, but bowed calmly in response. He waited with his back against the wall and spent seed dribbling down his quivering thigh as the guard walked out, then he closed his yukata with shaky hands and walked slowly to the hospital bed where Ginger laid. He colored as he noticed that the ginger-haired man's eyes were open, but the slight shaking of his slim body ceased and his lovely face took on a more stoic expression.

"D-does that happen a lot around here?" Ginger asked, "The guards just...?"

"It was an exchange," Sakura answered, sitting down in a chair beside the bed Ginger laid in and washing his face with a cool, wet cloth, "There are checks and balances, exchanges that allow us little bits of freedom to do or to gain things we want or need."

"You let that guy have sex with you so that you could stay with me?" asked Ginger, "Why? You barely know me. You didn't have to do that."

"It wasn't just for you," Sakura said, matter-of-factly, "While you were unconscious and the healer was treating you, I was able to get a glimpse of your chart. And in doing so, I learned that it wasn't chance that you are here."

"What do you mean?" Ginger asked, frowning as he tried to sit up, but was stopped by the restraints on his wrists, waist and ankles, "Hey, can you let me up?"

"Sorry," Sakura apologized, "I was not given a key to the bindings. I was only given permission to sit and comfort you while you recovered. You have a concussion from the beating the guard gave you for speaking to him."

"Right," Ginger remembered, "although that was a dirty trick, him provoking me like that."

"He was testing you," Sakura explained, "He wanted to see how much trouble you are going to be, and I think you understand what answer you gave him."

"You probably think I was kinda stupid, right?" Ginger said ruefully.

"Protective instincts aren't stupid, Ginger," Sakura said quietly, "They mean that you have not lost your humanity. While I am sorry that you were hurt acting on my behalf and I hope that you will be wiser in the future, I am...heartened by your kindness."

Ginger felt a slow smile spread across his sore face.

"Well, it was wrong of that guy to say what he did."

He was surprised by the beauty of the little smile Sakura gave him.

"You don't think I'm paranoid and suicidal?" Sakura asked in an amused tone.

"I think you're really smart and pretty no nonsense in pursuing answers," Ginger assured him, "You said that you learned something from glimpsing my chart?"

"I did," Sakura confirmed, determination lighting his dark eyes, "You remember when I told you the few words that Brains said that sounded familiar?"

"Uh-huh. What about that?"

"One of the words he said was Kurosaki. I didn't know what that meant before, but I do now."

"Okay, what is it?"

"When I glimpsed your chart, I saw your real name...and that name is Kurosaki Ichigo."

He gazed at Ginger expectantly.

"Does that name mean anything to you?" he asked hopefully.

Ginger bit his lip gently, thinking hard, but only feeling a dull pounding in his head.

"S-sorry," he apologized, "It does sound familiar, but I don't feel a connection with any memories or anything. That may be my name, but if it is, I don't remember being that person. I still don't remember anything before showing up here."

"That may be, but it is a piece of the puzzle, and it confirms that the first letters in our prison identification codes are our true initials. Mine are KB, Shadow's are KT, Brains' are UK, Kit's are JG, Tats' are AR and Buzzard's are BB. It isn't a lot, but it is significant."

"I still don't know if it was worth letting that asshole put his hands on you."

"Ichigo..."

Ginger froze for a moment as an image flashed in his mind of Sakura standing, turned away from him and dressed in a bloodied, black and white uniform, and broken decorations of some sort in his hair.

 _"Your strong will and untamed spirit have shattered my blade," Sakura said stoically, "I will pursue Rukia no more."_

"What is it?" Sakura asked, glancing over his shoulder as footsteps sounded outside the infirmary door, "Did you remember something?"

"I don't know," Ginger answered, frowning and furrowing his brow, "I think it was you. You were wearing a black and white uniform and these broken, white decorations in your hair. You said something to me about breaking your sword. I don't know if it's real or not."

"It might be," Sakura answered, "Now, think about my initials, KB. Connect them in your mind with my face as it was in that bit of memory. Keep that working in your mind and see if you can remember any more."

"I will," Ginger promised.

Sakura nodded.

"Good. Now, I should change the bandages on your injuries. The healer who treated you said that they would need changing before morning."

Ginger flinched slightly as Sakura's cold, still shaky hands touched him.

"Sorry," the paler man apologized.

"It's not that cold in here. Why are your hands cold?"

"It's probably stress...anxiety," Sakura posited, rubbing his hands together before continuing.

Ginger watched silently as Sakura removed the dressings on his face and arm, then cleaned the wounds carefully and set new bandages in place.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"You asked for the beating by speaking to the guards," Sakura chided him, "but...I do appreciate you standing up for me. I feel a warmth when I look at you. It is a feeling that seems at odds with what you've remembered. I wonder if we really knew each other before."

"You said a name," Ginger remembered suddenly, "You said something about someone named Rukia. Do you remember a Rukia?"

Sakura closed his dark eyes for several moments, considering.

"I don't remember that person, but it gives me something to focus on. I will think about that while you try to remember more of what you saw."

"Deal," Ginger said, smiling.

"My hour is almost up," Sakura said, standing and laying his warmer hand over Ginger's for a moment, "I have to clean up before going back. We are routinely checked for signs of disobedience."

"That's right," Ginger agreed, "We're not allowed to have sex."

"That is correct. But the guards always leave us the means to cover our actions when we make an agreement with them. It is best if we don't take advantage by being careless."

Sakura started to turn away.

"Hey..."

"What is it?" Sakura asked, still facing away from him.

Ginger paused, considering.

"We're already kinda breaking the rules, right?"

Sakura looked over his shoulder and arched a fine eyebrow.

"Yes, well, technically I am, you're not," he answered, "Why do you ask?"

Ginger smiled.

"Wanna break them a little more?" he asked.

Sakura turned all of the way around.

"How do you mean?" he asked, showing no sign of levity.

"You know," Ginger said, smirking, "You're going to clean up anyway. Do you want to have sex with me?"

Sakura gave him an amused look and walked to his bedside, where he stood quietly for a moment before bending and laying a soft, affectionate kiss on Ginger's surprised lips.

"You are new here, so maybe you don't understand, but sexual exchanges between inmates are somewhat sacred since they are stolen and dangerous moments. We should only join our bodies if it is that we are making love...Ichigo."

Ginger was sure he should have been offended at being brushed off, but he couldn't stop the blush or the helpless smile that overtook his handsome face.

"Okay, but you know, next time I might not be tied down like this. We could be missing a pretty good opportunity."

"I will do my best to shoulder the weight of my disappointment," Sakura said dryly, walking to the sink.

Ginger watched as the raven-haired man slowly removed his yukata and took his time washing away the spatters of semen and light stains of dried blood on his bruised thighs.

"Are you teasing me, Sakura?" Ginger asked, scowling.

"Am I?" Sakura asked sedately.

"That's not very nice."

"Neither is asking someone you've just met for meaningless sex," Sakura said archly.

"Hey, first of all, you don't know that we've only just met...and who said it would be meaningless?" Ginger complained.

The two froze as the door opened and the guard poked his head into the room.

"Come on," he urged Sakura, "it's time to go."

Sakura closed and tied his yukata, then bowed his head and followed the guard obediently out of the room. Ginger laid more calmly in his bonds, thinking deeply about all that had happened.

"Ichigo," he whispered, feeling a little twinge as he heard Sakura's deep voice saying the name in his mind, "Kurosaki Ichigo."

He frowned as he strained to remember more, but could picture nothing more than what he had already seen.

"Damn," he whispered determinedly, "I have got to remember!"

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"Soutaichou."

Shunsui looked up from the report he had been poring over, giving Nanao a weary smile as she entered his first division office, followed by Shihoin Yoruichi, Kuchiki Rukia and a slender person of undetectable gender, cloaked and hooded in black.

"I'm glad to see you got back safely," he said in a relieved tone, looking with interest at the cloaked and hooded person, "Were you able to learn anything?"

"There were definitely signs that Ichigo was at Urahara's shop and that he was attacked and dragged away," Yoruichi reported, "Whoever it was, was smart enough to knock him out from behind to avoid a prolonged fight that would have raised his reiatsu and alerted us. Rukia and I searched the shop thoroughly, but we couldn't figure out where the attacker or attackers went with Ichigo or where Kisuke or any of the others might have been taken."

Shunsui loosed a solemn sigh, looking unhappily down at the files that were opened and spread out on the desk in front of him.

"Ten abductions of Gotei officers, former officers or allies in the quincy war, in the last six months. This isn't good. I hope whoever you have under that hood can be of some real help or we're not going to have enough officers left to guard the Seireitei."

"I wouldn't have dared to bring him here if I didn't think he could," Yoruichi answered, turning her head to give the cloaked person a nod.

Shunsui and Nanao made sounds of surprise, gazing intently at the person as he pulled back the hood and revealed himself.

"Ishida Uryu," Shunsui mused, "I wasn't sure if you were still alive. It's good to see you are, and that you don't appear to be holding a grudge. Central 46 did, after all, order your capture and trial after the war."

Uryu looked back at him through determined eyes, his lips frowning.

"Well, thanks to you allowing me to escape, I am alive and well. My father and I have been in hiding, but we haven't just been hiding."

"I figured," Shunsui said approvingly, "So, can you tell me what has happened to our missing taichous and allies? I suspect that it is the surviving quincies who have done this?"

"Yes," Uryu confirmed, "they have. My father and I believe that the missing persons have been taken into the shadows and imprisoned somewhere inside."

Shunsui's eyes reflected surprise and deep interest as he leaned forward, placing his palms on his desk.

"You have been inside the shadows?"

"Not yet," Uryu explained, "It is too dangerous right now. The remaining quincies know that we could be dangerous to them. They have tried on several occasions to capture us, but we were able to escape. We have to be cautious not to expose ourselves, so that makes surveillance difficult, although not impossible. My father and I are going to continue working on plans to get a small group inside. It will take time to plan, but we should be ready soon."

"Do you need any support from us? Weapons? Supplies? People?" asked Shunsui.

"We are well outfitted and with the exception of Rukia, it's better not to involve too many people from the Gotei. The quincies were defeated, but they still have all of the intelligence that Ywach gathered, as well as several upper officers who survived the battles. They know they are outnumbered, but they have the advantage of being able to observe and move with stealth. You need to remind all of your officers who haven't been kidnapped to travel in groups, not even just pairs anymore. It's too dangerous. Whatever they are planning is big."

"Warning taken," Shunsui assured him, "All right. I will provide your way back so that you don't have to show yourselves again outside. Please continue with your surveillance and Nanao will give you another supply of coded hell butterflies to use to contact me. Just one more thing. Were you able to acquire Inoue Orihime or does the enemy have her?"

Uryu smiled.

"She's safe. She's with us. We got to her ahead of the quincy abductors. Unfortunately, we didn't get a good look at them. We'll try setting up a few more traps for them and see what we can gather."

"I will attempt to do the same here," Shunsui promised, "although you are better at anticipating them than we are, I am afraid, so I don't know if we'll be much help."

"Any help you can give us would be appreciated," Uryu answered, "But we should go."

Shunsui nodded.

"Nanao."

His fukutaichou nodded and opened a private senkaimon.

"Be careful," he warned the three, "and good luck."

Yoruichi smiled.

"We'll find them, don't worry."

"Please do," Shunsui answered, his eyes clouding as they strayed down to look at Ukitake Juushirou's smiling picture inside his opened file, "These missing people have family and friends who are waiting anxiously for them to come back."

"We'll find them, Soutaichou," Yoruichi promised, "We'll bring them home."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginger heard quick steps in the hallway, raised voices and the squeak of metal wheels. The door to the infirmary burst open suddenly and orderlies wheeled a bed into the room. Ginger stared in dismay as he spotted the large patches of blood on the sheet that partially covered the injured man. His heart sank as he recognized Sakura's pale face. It took everything in him not to shout out to the other inmate.

 _But bringing attention to myself now might either get me in more trouble or get me taken out of here. I need to know what happened._

He laid quietly in his bonds, his eyes glued to Sakura's white face and his fitfully rising and falling chest. A chill went through him as his eye found the guard that had been intimate with the injured inmate. The man glowered back at him with pure hatred in his eyes as though daring him to speak.

 _What the hell?_

"I was walking past his room as I was preparing to go off duty," the guard told his superior, "I saw blood on the sheet and went into the room. He was fine. He'd just managed to scratch himself to lure me. But when I got close to him, he grabbed my pocketknife and did his wrists before I could stop him."

Ginger stared in horror as the healers drew back the sheet and each began to work at stopping the flow of blood from one slashed wrist.

 _This doesn't make sense. Sakura isn't crazy. He's not suicidal. He can't be. He was making way too much sense before. There's no way it happened like that. I wonder if he made the guard angry somehow._

"He's lost a lot of blood," one of the healer's said worriedly.

"Adjust his limiter so his body can help restore him," said another healer.

The second healer set an opened file down on a wheeled table behind him and turned back to attend to the silver bands on Sakura's wrists, while two other healers finished cleaning the wounds and stitched them closed. Ginger squinted at the open and slightly tilted file.

 _Kuchiki Byakuya, shinigami noble, adjusted age 22, captured in Karakura Town on..._

The healer took a step back, bumping the table and making the file fall flat. Ginger turned his attention back to watching the healers work, also observing the guard from earlier out of the corner of one brown eye. The man watched as the healers finished the sutures, then carefully bandaged Sakura's wrists and set his restraints so that they wouldn't touch the bandaged wounds. They left, one of them carrying the file that Ginger had tried to read. The guard lingered behind until he was alone with the two inmates. He walked slowly to Ginger and surprised him by releasing the restraints an removing his IV.

"Get up."

Ginger complied without saying a word, well aware of what could happen if he made any mistakes. He leaned against the guard and staggered to Sakura's side, where he sat down in the chair the guard indicated.

"This is your mess. Take care of it," the guard said tersely, "and...be careful that you don't _break any rules_."

He turned without another word and walked out of the infirmary.

Ginger stared at the nearest of Sakura's bandaged wrists, mingled fear and dismay leaving him with a sick feeling inside.

 _This was a warning, wasn't it?_

 _He hurt Sakura...because of me!_


	3. Incoherence

**Chapter 3: Incoherence**

Ginger woke to the odd, unsettling silence that always seemed to hang over the cellblock where the inmates spent their nights. He yawned and sat up slowly, looking over at the cell door and finding that it was already unlocked and opened for the day.

 _I wonder how I slept through the sound of it unlatching_ , he mused, _Do they drug us when we go to sleep? Damn, that's such a paranoid sounding question. But everything in here seems made to make us question ourselves. It gives our jailors a real advantage. They control our reality..._

He climbed out of bed and left his room, turning down the hallway and heading towards the common room. He paused by Sakura's open door and looked inside his room, expecting to find his friend still recovering from his injury. To his surprise, Sakura's bed was empty.

 _He couldn't have recovered already. I wonder if he had to go back to the infirmary._

He continued on to the common room, where he found the other inmates, except for the grey-eyed man he was so hoping to see.

"Hey uh, excuse me," he said to the shy, quiet man he knew was called Shadow, "Have you seen Sakura?"

Shadow's blue eyed looked up at him shyly, and the young man blushed and shook his head.

"Do you know if he had to go back to the infirmary?"

Shadow looked back at him wordlessly, a look of sadness and worry in his gemlike sapphire eyes.

"Just leave him alone, asshole," a low, almost growling voice warned him.

Ginger met the blue-haired man's icy blue eyes warily.

"You're Kit, right?" he asked.

"That's right," Kit answered, glaring at him, "Why are you bothering him? Leave him alone."

"I'm not trying to bother your friend," Ginger assured him, remembering Doctor Falk's warning about the blue-haired man, "I was just wanting to know where Sakura is."

"Where do you think?" Kit asked confrontationally, "He's being punished."

A cold chill ran down Ginger's spine.

"Punished?" he mused, "Why would he be punished? He can't even get out of bed!"

"Yeah, well, he tried to commit suicide...and attempted suicide is an act of violence. He broke the rules. That's how it works here. You'd better make peace with that, or you're gonna spend an awful lot of time suffering their punishments."

"What kind of punishment?"

Kit shrugged and reached down to begin massaging Shadow's shoulders. The shy young man said nothing, but gave a little sigh and closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle treatment.

"Different kinds," Kit went on, "Shocks, beatings, being locked up in the dark. And the worst thing about it? They know what we're most afraid of and they use that."

"Well, how do they know what we're most afraid of if we don't know who we even are?"

"Tch," Kit huffed, "I'm surprised you don't already know. I mean, it seems obvious. _We_ don't remember our pasts, not even our names, but _they_ know. They know everything about us, and they use that. Fucking sadists. But don't worry. They don't want us to die, so they won't really hurt him anymore than he's already hurt himself."

"Sakura didn't hurt himself," Ginger said firmly.

Kit paused and gave him a baleful look.

"You be careful who you say that to," he warned Ginger, "You say it to the wrong person and you may end up in solitary confinement. And if you think hanging with us loonies is bad, solitary's worse. You don't wanna know how."

"I'll take your word for it," Ginger said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, "Hey Kit, I uh...I'm sorry if I offended you by asking Shadow questions. I know he's shy, but I'm just trying to get to know everyone here."

"Huh, I don't know if we should get involved with you," Kit said dismissively, "You've already gotten yourself a kick in the head and after hanging out with you, Sakura either tried to kill himself or someone else hurt him. That's not a good track record."

"What can I say? I'm new here."

"Well, wise up, Newbie, before you get yourself or one of us into real trouble. Now, why don't you scram."

"Right," Ginger said, shaking his head and turning away, "Nice..."

He paused for a moment, looking around the room, then spotted Brains sitting in front of television, where a black and white movie was playing.

 _Sakura seemed to think he knew something about what's going on. Maybe I should try to talk to him._

He walked over and sat down on a sofa that was near the comfortable stuffed chair Brains reclined in. He picked up on of the old magazines and pretended to read, listening to the low muttering of his fellow inmate.

"We're not the body, we're the soul, the soul, the soul," Brains chanted in a whisper, his body rocking slightly back and forth, "We're not the body, we're the soul."

 _What the...?_

Out of the corner of an eye, he studied the man's mussed blonde hair, his pale grey eyes and odd, blank expression.

 _What did they do to this guy?_

"Brains?" he said softly, not looking up as he spoke, "Do you do anything but chant?"

"We're not the body, we're the soul, the soul, the soul. We're not the body, we're the soul," Brains went on, rocking back and forth.

"O-kay," he sighed, rolling his eyes and continuing to pretend to read.

"Ginger?"

Ginger looked up and found Doctor Falk standing near him. He gave the doctor a somewhat forced smile of greeting and stood.

"What do you want, Doc?" he asked, trying to look unruffled, "Is it time for a session?"

"Yes, Ginger. Come with me."

Ginger followed him out of the common room and to a little office near the inmates' cells. He closed the door behind them and motioned for Ginger to sit, then took the seat on the other side of the desk.

"I understand that you were present when Sakura was brought to the infirmary."

"Yeah."

"I am sorry to hear that. It must have been difficult for you to see, as you and Sakura seem to be making friends."

 _He wants me to know we're closely watched._

He's been helping me learn how to stay out of trouble. I kinda have a problem with that."

"You are new to the facility," Doctor Falk concluded, "It just takes time to condition oneself. You are doing as well as can be expected."

"Doc," Ginger said in a troubled tone, "can you explain something to me?"

"I will try."

"Sakura seemed...really okay when I talked to him. He seemed together, not stressed out or upset or anything. There wasn't any reason for him to try to hurt himself. I just...can't understand."

"Yes," Falk acknowledged, "that is one of the hardest things about his mental illness, how little sense it makes and how unpredictable he can be. You can see why his family had him committed."

"I guess. Is he really being punished? It seems like it would make his condition worse."

"Well," said Falk, "sometimes we must walk the fine line between treatment and enforcement. As much as we want to help Sakura, we can't overlook the breaking of rules. Without rules, this facility would become a very chaotic place, don't you think? Every society needs rules and order."

"Yeah, I suppose," Ginger said sadly, "I'm just worried about him. He wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Except himself."

 _He's lying. He knows Sakura wouldn't do this._

"Doc, where is he? Is it...okay for me to ask you that?"

Falk smiled.

"Of course," he answered kindly, "Sakura was placed in solitary confinement. When he has paid for his misbehavior, he will be returned to his cell."

"How uh...how long will that be?"

"You are quite worried about him," Falk noted.

"He's a good guy. He's gentle. He really doesn't seem like he belongs here."

"You feel protective of him?"

"He's a friend. Everybody needs friends, right?" Ginger explained, "Sakura was the first person here to be friendly to me."

"It makes sense that you are bonding with him," Falk noted, "Well, don't worry, Sakura will be fine and he will be back, barring any further misbehavior."

 _I wonder if this guy is talking about Sakura misbehaving or if he is warning me not to do anything else...like a threat. It's hard to tell the difference._

"Are you all right, Ginger?" Falk asked in a concerned tone.

"I guess so."

"You haven't had any angry feelings or felt like there were periods of time that you were losing."

"Periods of time I was losing?" asked Ginger, frowning.

"When you murdered your family and you were caught, you claimed not to have an awareness of the time when you became violent. It was, you said, as though you weren't there in your body when it happened. You've had no moments like that?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"Ah," the doctor said, giving him a look of relief, "I was a little worried that you might have had a blackout and hurt Sakura yourself."

"What? Me?" Ginger mused, "Why would I do that? Sakura is my friend. Besides, I was in the infirmary the whole time. I was tied down. I couldn't have hurt him."

"You were tied down?" asked Falk, frowning more deeply.

"I accidently answered a guard who talked to us," Ginger explained, "I didn't realize that if we just answered a question we were asked we would be punished."

"Hmm, it does sometimes take painful lessons to learn the rules."

"It seems kinda unfair that they can trap us into breaking them. I mean, if a guard doesn't like us, they can make our lives pretty miserable, you know."

"Yes," Falk answered, eyeing him closely, "they can."

"Well, I won't be falling for that one again," Ginger said, shaking his head, "And I will try to stay out of trouble."

"That is good," Falk said approvingly, "I think we are done for now. You may go back to the common room, Ginger."

"Thanks Doc," Ginger said, standing, "See you."

Ginger walked back to the common room and paused in the doorway, looking around. He spotted Brains, still sitting in front of the television, muttering softly to himself while Shadow stared out the window and Buzzard, Tats and Kit played cards.

"Hey Newbie," Kit said gruffly, glancing at him, "get your ass over here. We need a fourth."

"Sure," Ginger answered, taking an open seat.

He watched as Buzzard dealt the cards.

"It's simple, five card draw," he explained, "No wagers cause we're not allowed to gamble...not here anyway."

"Not here?" Ginger asked curiously, "Then where _can_ we?"

"Good question," Buzzard said approvingly, "You're not stupid. I was thinking you were, the way you fell right into the guard's trap. But I guess you can learn from your mistakes."

Ginger gave him a crooked smile.

"So, are you gonna tell me where we're allowed to gamble?" he asked.

"The Underground," Buzzard answered calmly.

"The Underground?"

"Mhmm. About once a week, the ones of us who don't cause any trouble get to go down to the lower level, the place where they keep the real monsters. We get good food for free, booze to drink and we can talk to whoever's there, even guards. It's like being back in society for a few hours."

"What kind of gambling do you do?" Ginger asked.

"We make bets on fights between the most violent inmates, the ones they don't let up here because they'd probably kill lightweights like us."

 _He's calling guys who murdered multiple people lightweights? What the hell kinda freaks are down in that place then?_

"You and Sakura won't get an invite this week. You don't get to go if you misbehave...unless you've been really bad. Then, you get to go down there and face off with one of the monsters."

Kit snickered.

"You know, you might get picked for that if you're not careful."

"You don't think Sakura would be for what he did, do you?"

Tats laughed.

"Are you sweet on him?" he asked, "I don't blame you. He's cute. A little snooty, but he's got a nice ass. It'd be a shame if they made him fight this week. He could get killed."

"I thought these people didn't want us to die," Ginger mused.

"Well," Buzzard said, smirking "If you're a troublemaker, sometimes they decide you're not worth keeping. Then, you're in trouble."

"You might be in trouble anyway," Kit posited, "I heard that guard you pissed off talking about setting you up on a date with the beast."

"A date with the beast?" Ginger repeated, looking confused, "What does that mean?"

The other three men looked at each other and laughed.

"You'll find out," Buzzard chuckled, "C'mon, let's play cards."

Ginger played along, observing the other three men as they interacted.

 _Buzzard and Kit are brutal types, but both seem soft when it comes to the guys they like. Kit will kill anything that comes near Shadow and I feel some strong vibes between Buzzard and Tats. Tats seems really with it for someone who's supposed to have nearly destroyed himself with drugs and alcohol. And even though Buzzard and Kit are supposed to be killers, they have a code of honor. They're jerks sometimes, but they're jerks with some standards. Interesting._

The group separated when lunch was served and Ginger sat alone near Brains, watching out of the corner of an eye as the blonde man ignored his food and continued to chant softly. After several minutes, an orderly appeared and said a few sharp words to him. Brains went quiet for a moment and took a few bites of his meal, then went back to chanting.

 _Weird..._

After lunch, Ginger walked outside, taking a slow stroll around the gardens and mulling over the phrase Brains had been chanting.

 _We're not the body, we're the soul. What was he saying that for? It must mean something. Sakura heard that guy say my name. I wonder if I knew him. I'll have to try to get closer, maybe talk to him again._

He paused to watch the koi swimming in the pond.

 _We're not the body, we're the soul. Sakura said he also said soul society. I don't know what that is, but it sounds connected. It seems like a puzzle. I just have to figure it out._

He finished his stroll around the gardens, then walked back inside. He was disappointed that Brains was not in the common room and gave a bored sigh as he started back to his own room to lie down and think. He was passing Sakura's open door when he realized that the man had been returned to his room and laid on the bed, his body in restraints. He tapped on the door and stepped inside, feeling a twinge of worry that Sakura neither moved nor answered him. He moved closer, marveling at the fact his friend's eyes were opened and focused on the ceiling, but that he didn't seem to respond to any attempts to engage him.

"Sakura, what's going on?" he asked worriedly, dropping into a chair at his friend's side and slipping a hand into his, "Why won't you answer me? Are you really awake?"

Sakura stared silently up at the ceiling and gave no reply.

 _I wonder if he's drugged or something._

"Well, even if you won't talk to me, I need to talk to you. I just want to say that I'm sorry. And I don't just mean that I'm sorry you got hurt. I think I'm the reason you got hurt. I'm sorry for getting the guard angry and that he took this out on you. I don't care what they say. I know you didn't try to hurt yourself. You wouldn't do that. I hope you're feeling better soon and that you'll start talking to me again. I feel like I'm going crazy here, trying to figure things out. And there are so many ways to get myself and anyone I am around into trouble. I don't know. Maybe Kit is right. Maybe you should stay away from me. I don't want to be the reason that something bad happens to you."

"You really like Sakura, don't you?" asked a soft male voice he recognized at once as Shadow's.

He turned his head and met the slim, blue-eyed man's gaze, smiling kindly and motioning for him to sit down, then he waited cautiously for his shy companion to go on. After several minutes of silence, Shadow slipped a pale hand into Sakura's.

"We were brought here at the same time, along with Brains. We've been here longer than Kit and the others."

"Do you remember anything from before?" Ginger asked carefully.

"No," Shadow answered, "but then, my mind was reconditioned once. That's what they call it when they empty a prisoner's mind so that they don't remember anything. I think they do it to everyone when they arrive, then if they think the person knows too much."

He looked down sadly at Sakura.

"I think that's why he's like this."

Ginger gave Shadow a look of alarm.

"You think they erased his memory? You think he won't remember anything?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Shadow regarded the still form on the bed for a moment.

"Ginger, you must be very careful. If they reconditioned his mind, they might be watching you and intending to do the same to you if you seem like you know something."

"All I really know are bits and pieces," Ginger sighed, "although I have learned our names, mine and his."

"You have?" Shadow asked hopefully, "What are they? If you don't mind me asking."

"It's fine," Ginger said, smiling, "My name's Kurosaki Ichigo and I saw on Sakura's chart that his name is Kuchiki Byakuya. Do those names mean anything to you?"

"No," Shadow said, shaking his head, "but...it's strange. It feels very good to know something that isn't a lie. Ichigo and Byakuya."

"Your name has the initials KT," Ginger informed Shadow, "We figured out that the first two letters in our prison ID are our initials."

"KT," Shadow repeated, giving him a genuine smile, "So, I am KT and Kit is JG."

"Yeah. I know it's not much, but it's something, right?"

"Right," Shadow agreed, "It makes me feel hopeful."

"We'll find out more," Ginger promised, "And when we do, I'll be sure to let you in on it, okay?"

"Okay," Shadow said, blushing and standing, "I have to go, but...thank you, Ginger."

"It's no problem. Take care."

He watched Shadow leave the room, then turned back to Sakura to find his grey eyes moving slightly to focus on him. Sakura took a slow breath and tried his voice.

"Where am I?" he whispered haltingly, "What happened to me? Who are you?"

"It's okay," Ginger said, slipping his hand into Sakura's, "I'm Ginger...and I'm a friend."


	4. The Trap

**Chapter 4: The Trap**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **(My work schedule is really brutal this week, but I have been working to get several chapters of stories in progress over the weekend, so I'll be able to keep publishing. We'll see how that goes. My deepest gratitude to everyone reading and to reviewers Aizenfan6969 (The muse is definitely calling the shots on this one. I keep getting freaked out and having to remind myself it's just a story.), Picklez80 (I have a few words for you. Thank you so very much! 3), Wildwind13 (Thanks for the compliment!), Winterheart2000 (While also scaring my own pants off too!), Willow (I will keep the chapters moving along. I continue to feel very motivated.), Nyma (Thanks! Glad to have you along.), Gemnika (We'll be meeting the beast very soon...or at least Ichigo will be!), Jazzybella (Thanks a million! This is one of those special stories that has me by the hair and is pretty darned insistent about being written. I love those!), Bubblymoon (I have a little less experience writing suspense, so it's fun weaving in the little bits of clues from chapter to chapter.), Anarane-Sensei (Yay! I love feeling that enthusiasm. It's such a powerful motivator! Thanks!), AliciaJenHavens (I will be busily updating. I'm taking my writing laptop to work for those lovely stolen writing moments during the day.), AdalieDelacroix (It will take some serious cooperation and a lot of luck for the inmates to get out of this predicament. But Ichigo will have some help along the way. Oh yes, and the beast is coming soon!), Parnita (I am really mean to my favorite characters. If I ever meet them, they just might beat me up!), Hisuiryuu (Ichigo and Byakuya have a bond that will reach across and even having lost his memory, Byakuya senses that Ichigo is important/significant, and instinctively feels drawn to him. Vice versa as well!), PrivateCaller (That place is like my worst nightmare.), Periwinkle (Aaaaand, here's a new one!), Beaker (You are wise!), Kenni-bun bun (It's pretty darned effective in lowering the risk of prisoners making escape plans, but they have underestimated Ichigo's deep determination.), Shima-Taicho31 (Ah, thanks Kuri, for taking care of my passionate friend! That guard will get a little bit of comeuppance soon! He's pushing his luck...), BleachLover (Here's that update!), Kittykins (I love exciting stories, but sometimes thrillers are too scary because my reality meter gets knocked off kilter!), and Tmp3475 (That seems to be a wicked quincy characteristic. Luckily, Ichigo and friends are resourceful and strong, so they will have a brutal response.) Peace to all! Enjoy the new chapter! Love, Spunky)**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Ginger moved his chair out of the way as an orderly arrived and bent over Sakura, unlocking the restraints and slowly releasing the bound man's wrists, waist and ankles.

"Sit up slowly," the orderly advised him, taking Sakura's hand and curling an arm around him to help support his weight, then piling several pillows behind him, "You're going to feel drowsy for a while. Just rest and eat. You'll feel better soon."

Sakura gave no answer, only suffering a cold shiver at the man's touch, then settling back against his pillows and looking down at his uncovered body.

"Sorry, no bedding for you, but you should be warm enough without," the orderly said, not bothering to explain why.

He exited the room, leaving as Ginger moved his chair back to Sakura's bedside.

"You all right?" he asked, "You do look sorta shaky."

"I think I will be fine," Sakura answered, "Thank you, Ginger."

Sakura picked up a cup of water from his bedside table and sipped at it for a moment, then set it down.

"So, you say you can't remember anything?" Ginger asked, "How did you know not to answer the orderly?"

"I was warned while I was still immobilized," Sakura explained, "I could see and hear. I just couldn't move."

"Oh, so you did hear me before?"

"Yes, but your words didn't make sense to me. I didn't know you, but you spoke to me as though you knew me. You also sounded like we were gathering information."

"We were," Ginger confirmed, "Look, I think because we can't anticipate when one of us will be mind wiped, we need to find a way to keep the information we learn safe."

"But how will we do that?" Sakura mused, "We have so few implements to work with here."

"You're right about that," Ginger agreed, "So, I think I'll share what I know with the others, you know, quietly so that even if some of us are reconditioned, we won't lose ground. We have to do something. It's clear as day that we're not here because of any crimes we committed or because we're dangerous to ourselves."

"I think you are right," Sakura agreed, "I think we are here because we are dangerous, or at least useful, to someone else."

The two looked up as a footstep sounded in the doorway. Ginger smiled and Sakura looked on with deep interest as Shadow and Kit entered the room, the former carrying a handful of little flowers he had placed in a paper cup with a measure of water.

"Shadow, Kit," Ginger greeted them, "Good to see you."

Shadow nodded and walked to Sakura's bedside, setting the flowers gently on the lap table his food rested on.

"I picked these for you," he said softly, "I know you probably don't remember me..."

"But I can feel that you are a friend," Sakura assured him, "Thank you."

"It's a fucking crime what they did you," Kit said in a low, angry voice, "I don't care what they told you. I know you wouldn't do what they said."

"It is good that you are here to say that," Sakura sighed, "since I have no memory of just how I received these injuries."

"I feel kinda guilty about that," Ginger confessed, "I think the guard might have overheard me sort of flirting with you. It was a guard that you'd made a deal with so that you could sit with me while I was recovering from getting beaten up by him."

"You should feel guilty," Kit said, crossing his arms.

"Kit, you can't blame Ginger for that," Shadow argued gently, touching the blue-haired man's arm and provoking a look of frustration in his eyes, "That guard has been purposely provoking him. I've been watching. He seems to hate Ginger, and he would be glad if he turned us against him."

"Fuck, they play so many head games here," Kit complained, running his hands over his face, "It gets to where I don't know what the hell the truth is. I don't know what's real."

"I feel the same," Ginger assured him.

"I think we all do," Shadow added, "but if we can just trust each other and work together, maybe we can find out what's really going on here."

"We have to be really careful," Ginger said, glancing at Sakura, "If the guards or Falk get any inkling we're all in this together, they're going to make sure all of us get mind-wiped and we have start from square one."

"If any of us have enough brain cells left to realize what they're doing after that," Kit said, scowling, "But okay. What are we gonna do?"

Ginger smiled.

"You need to pretend you don't like me."

"Heh," Kit snickered, "That'll be easy, cause I _don't_!"

"Kit!" Shadow chided him.

"It's okay," Ginger reassured him, giving him an encouraging smile, "If there's tension between some of us, the guards here are less likely to think we'd cooperate. So, you just act like you don't trust me. Be kind of a jerk to me. That should be easy for you."

"Sounds like fun," Kit joked.

"See if you can convince Buzzard and Tats to act like they're disagreeing over whether or not they like me. The more we seem to distrust each other the better."

"Just be careful not to break the rules prohibiting violence," Shadow warned them, "We don't want to walk into one trap while avoiding another."

"That makes sense," Sakura agreed.

"Okay, I'll go out and talk to the others. You coming, Shadow?"

"Actually, I haven't been feeling well since lunch. I was thinking I'd go and lie down."

"You sure you're all right?" Kit asked, evincing a worried look that belied his usually taciturn attitude, "Want me to come with you?"

"Oh, I'll be fine. I'll just lie down for awhile."

"I'll come and check on you after I talk to Buzzard and Tats."

"You really don't have to worry so much," Shadow assured him, "I'm fine."

Ginger watched the blue-haired man leave, then grinned at Shadow.

"You really have that guy wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

"He is very protective. I don't know why I bring that out in him."

"Maybe it's because he's not used to being around kind of innocent people."

"I think Kit had a hard life before he came here. And I am not talking about the lies they fed him about his past. Kit is...different."

"Different?" Ginger asked, "How is he different?"

Shadow stole a cautious glance at the door, then looked back at Sakura and Ginger.

"There is a hole in his body," Shadow whispered, "It is in his abdomen. It is large and it never heals. He doesn't know why it's there. It's very strange."

"A hole that doesn't heal?" Ginger mused.

Shadow nodded.

"I have seen it."

He looked around again cautiously.

"I think I should go."

"Sure," said Ginger, "See you later."

"Thank you for the flowers, Shadow," Sakura said gratefully.

Ginger and Sakura watched quietly as Shadow slipped out of the room.

"What do you make of that?" asked Ginger, shaking his head, "It sounds like our captors may have done something to Kit."

"Maybe," Sakura agreed, "I wouldn't be surprised in the least if we were being used for experiments. The ones I overheard during my recovery said some disturbing things."

"Try to put that out of your mind for now," Ginger said soothingly, "You need to rest and get better. There's plenty of time for figuring things out when you're well."

"I will try to be patient," Sakura said, yawning.

"I'm gonna go now," Ginger said, standing, "I was thinking I'd go and see if..."

A sudden, sharp cry made Ginger and Sakura stiffen.

"Shadow!" Ginger exclaimed, "Sakura, you stay here, okay?"

Sakura nodded briefly, watching with haunted eyes as Ginger ran out the door. He ran into the hallway as another pained cry sounded, and as he drew closer to Shadow's room, he could hear the young man's sobbing voice.

"Don't! Please stop!"

"Stop struggling or I'll make sure you're carried out of here in a body bag!" hissed the voice of the guard that had injured both Ginger and Sakura, "Do what you're told, you little freak!"

Ginger burst into the room and felt instant fury rise in his chest as he found Shadow naked and lying on his back on the end of his bed, with the lascivious guard positioned between his shaking thighs. His teary eyes found Ginger's and a terrified howl escaped him.

" _Ginger, help me_!" he pleaded.

Without hesitation, Ginger closed the distance and crashed headlong into the guard, tumbling to the floor with him in a tangle of arms and legs. He drew back a fist and punched the guard in the face as the man shouted for assistance. A moment later, the prison siren began to wail and pounding feet sounded in the distance. Shadow retreated to the corner of his bed, shrinking back against the wall as Ginger shoved a knee into the guard's groin and threw another punch that struck his face, drawing a splash of blood.

"You bastard, that's enough!" Ginger shouted, "Shadow never does a goddamned thing to deserve you doing something like that! Keep your fucking hands off him!"

"Ginger!" Doctor Falk called out from the doorway.

He turned his head to meet the eyes of the security staff with him as Ginger shoved the guard to the ground and stood, backing away.

"He was raping Shadow! I saw him!" Ginger cried, his eyes flicking around anxiously as the guard he had assaulted staggered to his feet and the security team closed in, "It's not his fault. I was protecting him from that asshole!"

"I want you to calm down, Ginger," Falk said with forced calm, "You have already broken a number of rules. We will talk about that, but you need to do as the security chief tells you."

"Lie down on the floor and spread out," the security chief said sternly.

Ginger swallowed hard and complied. He sucked in and released quick breaths as the security chief approached and touched a device to his back.

"What are you doing?" Ginger asked anxiously.

A cry of dismay escaped him as the device issued a shock that sent him crashing into unconsciousness. As the security team lifted Ginger's unconscious body and carried him out of the room, Falk approached Shadow, who was still huddled in the corner of his bed with his back against the wall. Tears ran down his white face and the hands that held his yukata closed shook hard.

"Arnell," Falk inquired of the guard Ginger had been attacking, "will you tell me what happened?"

"I walked in on Ginger and this one having sex," the guard lied, "Ginger was being rough with him. I felt kind of bad having to report that one, seeing as how he's pretty weak and can't put up much of a fight, so I was going to let them off easy. But Ginger attacked, just went crazy. He knocked me down and you saw the rest. I think he would've killed me if you hadn't come in."

"I see," Falk said solemnly, "Well, you look like you need to go clean up. I will stay with Shadow. He does look traumatized."

Falk waited until he was alone in the room with Shadow, who continued to cringe against the wall in the back corner of the bed.

"It's all right," Falk said soothingly, "It seems as though you really didn't have the ability to defend yourself from your attacker."

Shadow gave no reply, but shivered harder. Falk smiled comfortingly.

"You didn't break any rules, Shadow. You won't be punished."

"Wh-what will happen to G-ginger?" Shadow managed in a whisper.

Falk's lips thinned into a stern line.

"He broke the rules by trying to have sex with you and being violent with both you and the guard who came to rescue you."

Shadow's lips twitched in response, but no words sounded. Falk gave him a curious look.

"Is something wrong, Shadow?"

Fresh tears leaked onto Shadow's damp cheeks as he struggled for words. After a few agonized moments, his head bowed penitently.

"I should be punished too," he managed in a trembling voice, "I let Ginger have sex with me. I...I convinced him to. You should punish me for that, not him."

Falk arched a skeptical eyebrow.

"Now, Shadow, you know better than that," he said reprovingly, "It is kind of you to try to lessen Ginger's punishment, but I won't let you take the blame. Come here."

He extended a hand in Shadow's direction.

"It's all right. Come to me."

Shadow crawled to the edge of the bed and knelt in front of Falk, accepting the hand he offered and waiting quietly, a calmer expression taking over his face.

"There now," the doctor said quietly, caressing Shadow's cheek gently, "there's no need to wear you down anymore. You've already been sufficiently broken. You haven't the will to be defiant, have you?"

Shadow looked back at him silently and gave no answer.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Falk asked kindly.

"J-just a few bruises, I think," Shadow answered, looking down at himself as Falk opened his yukata and examined him closely, running his fingers along a soft inner thigh.

"It doesn't look too bad," Falk assured him, "but you might be a little sore in the morning. I will give you a pain reliever."

"Oh, that's not..."

"I insist," the doctor said, smiling as he fished a bottle of pills out of his pocket and removed one, "Take this with the water over there."

Shadow's head bowed and he hesitated. Falk squeezed his hand gently.

"You'll be up all night, hurting. It's fine. You're allowed to have drugs I prescribe. Go ahead. Take it."

Shadow loosed a weary sigh and swallowed the pill with a mouthful of water. He remained on the edge of the bed, his eyes blurring slightly as the medication began to affect him. He blinked slowly and started to lie down, squinting and trying to make sense of the way Falk's smiling face seemed to follow, and he felt the man's hands touching him again. He tried to protest, but found his body unable to move. His mind went into a long, dizzying spin as Falk leaned over him and continued to caress his slim, naked body more vigorously. He could just hear the distant echoes of the doctor's pleasant voice as Falk's fingers invaded and slowly prepared him.

"You see, there is no need for brutality. We can get what we want without violence and pain. See how easily the blossom opens," mused, spreading Shadow's thighs wide and intensifying the motion of his fingers.

Shadow's legs quivered and he whimpered softly in protest.

"Shh," Falk soothed him, running his hands down Shadow's sides and wrapping them around his bare bottom, pulling him closer, and positioning him at the edge of the bed.

He stood and gazed down at the drugged inmate's dazed expression, unzipping his pants and caressing himself for a moment. He entered Shadow's incapacitated body unhurriedly, touching his lovely, confused looking face and whispering appreciative words as he began a slow, steady thrusting.

"You are as soft inside as outside," he panted, "Such a lovely, sad thing. And soon, all of the ones here will be soft and sad like you. They'll be gentle and obedient, opening like blossoms to receive our love. There is no need for cruel words and violence...only gentle guidance. Do you feel inside what my body wants from yours? Your heart pounds, sweat breaks out on your flesh and you feel heat in your most secret places. Only surrender and let yourself feel the beautiful throbs of completion."

A helpless gasp escaped Shadow's parted lips as his body stiffened, then joined the doctor's in release.

"Yes...yes," Falk panted, keeping himself connected with Shadow's seed splashed body as the last of the pleasant shudders faded, "There is perfection here. We are in perfect harmony. You have learned to take even your untenable situation and turn it into something as beautiful as you are."

He sighed, extracting himself from Shadow's body and carefully cleaning away the remnants of their joining before repositioning the senseless prisoner on the bed and closing his yukata.

"If only your friend, Ginger could try to understand like you do, then things would be more peaceful here. But he seems determined to make things difficult for himself. I wonder what he thinks of his punishment."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginger felt life returning to his body, but found that his limbs had been immobilized and the back of his body sunk into some kind of substance that molded to his form and held him firmly in place. He tried to open his eyes, but even when he lifted the heavy eyelids, all he saw at first was blackness. It receded slowly, sending a fierce jolt through him as he realized that the close feeling he had grew even worse upon perceiving that he was locked in some sort of coffin-like box.

He sucked in a deep, reflexive breath and a terrified, instinctive scream escaped him, before he managed to clench his jaw and force down the emotion.

 _The point here isn't to kill me. These bastards don't want us to die. They want us alive for some reason. What they want is to scare me so that I'll obey them._

Although he couldn't stop himself from shaking, he managed not to scream again or to thrash about. With an iron will, he closed his eyes and slowed his harried breathing. As he calmed inside, he felt the slight motion of air passing over him and felt a telltale coolness that assured him air was being pumped into the box at a steady rate. His body still wanted to panic, but he kept his eyes closed and focused deeply on anything that would keep him from acknowledging where he was.

 _This must be their solitary confinement, a way of playing on fears that everyone has. They probably have monitors that are measuring my reaction, my heartbeats and breaths, the sweat on my skin and how hard I shake in reaction. This is horrible, but I have to control my fear. My worst fears right now are that I'm going to suffocate or that I will never get out. Neither is true. These bastards are just making a point, and when they think they've made their point, they'll let me out again. They're preying on my natural responses. I can't let them have the satisfaction!_

Instead, he chose a source of comfort, a mental image that played and replayed in his mind as the minutes and hours ticked by.

"Sakura," he whispered, over and over as the bit of memory warmed him...Sakura smiling with amusement at his flirting and bending over his restrained body to offer him a warm, affectionate kiss. He buried himself in that lovely memory, focusing all of himself on it until everything else disappeared and he dropped of into a deep sleep.

 _Sakura._

 _Kuchiki Byakuya._

 _I'll see you again._

 _I will._


	5. Soul Impressions

**Chapter 5: Soul Impressions**

Ginger blinked in the darkness, his careful thoughts interrupted as he sensed some kind of change in his environment. It wasn't, he found, in the immobilization of his body. He was still unable to move much at all, except for the steady rise and fall of his chest. It wasn't a change in the passage of life-sustaining air. The coolness and soft hiss continued. There might have been a light change in the scent of it, but he couldn't be sure. It only became clear once he began to feel dizzy.

 _I understand._

 _They weren't getting their satisfaction out of just keeping me in here. I was strong enough not to start losing my mind, so they're going to tilt things in their favor._

He stiffened as a dark, fireshot image resonated in his hazy mind... _a tall blonde man standing opposite him in the corridor of a huge ice palace._

 _"You have been fortunate to come so far, Kurosaki Ichigo, but here is where your good fortune will end and the scales will tip in our favor!"_

Ginger sucked in a panicked breath.

"What was that?" he panted softly, "They're...making me hallucinate?"

 _He found himself suddenly standing on a dark street in Karakura Town, listening to the dull rumble of thunder that preceded the incoming storm. In the distance, Sakura stood, gazing at him warningly and holding the sliced off end of his sword in graceful fingertips. He heard a swish and the lovely man disappeared._

 _"Where did he...?"_

 _He wasn't sure whether he was struck from the front or back, but slowly came to the stark realization that it was both, as he groaned and collapsed onto the pavement._

 _"You're slow," Sakura chided him, "even when you are falling."_

"S-sakura!" Ginger gasped, his heart pounding, "No way! No way. I don't believe this!"

His chest tightened and anger swelled as more images of him fighting Sakura welled up from somewhere inside him.

 _I don't understand. Is this just the hallucinations they're making me have? Why is Sakura trying to hurt me?_

He reeled as the images spun faster.

 _Wait a minute._

 _Wait a minute._

 _We did fight...in that memory I had before. But I won and he said that he wouldn't pursue Rukia anymore! Maybe the things I'm seeing are real. And if they are, that means that whatever they're using to give me these hallucinations is making me remember things from before! And that makes me wonder, if I can remember things that scared me, can I remember things that I want to know?_

It was growing harder to focus, and he heard himself scream mindlessly as the image of Sakura cutting him down rolled through his mind faster and more furiously.

 _Rukia_ , he thought desperately, _Who are you, Rukia? Why did I want to protect you?_

He screamed again as he felt as though Sakura's cruel steel blade was cutting through him from front and back, disappearing, then reappearing and cutting him again. And Sakura's smooth voice was filled with disdain as it assaulted him with icy words.

 _Rukia, who are you?_ he pleaded in his mind, _Rukia!_

He wasn't sure how he held onto his sanity as painful images seemed to come in from every direction. And not just Sakura, but other faces he knew he was familiar with also appeared. For a moment, he began to remember their names.

 _Dad? Karin? Yuzu? Byakuya? Tetsuya? Renji? Kenpachi?_

 _A young woman appeared suddenly in front of him, a woman with black hair and large, violet eyes._

 _"Do you want to protect your family?" she asked him._

 _"You know I do," he answered her._

 _"Then..." she panted, placing a hand on a wound in her midsection, "the only way for you to do that now is for you to become a shinigami!"_

Ginger panted hard and sweat poured down his quaking body as he strained to push away the frightening images and focus on the one he felt was the truth. He sucked in a deep, agonized breath and released it in a final ringing howl as he called out her name.

" _RUKIA_!"

Outside the containment box, the man controlling the flow of aerosol drugs into the box heard Ginger's scream of surrender and watched the readings change as he lost consciousness.

"You're stubborn," he sighed, adjusting the mix of drugs and sending the next mixture into the box to torment him, "But you'll soon see that no amount of willfulness will protect you...Ichigo."

The man flinched as Doctor Falk's smooth voice rose up behind him.

"How is he responding to the treatment, Shaefer?"

"He's a tough one," Schaefer answered, turning the dials to adjust the mix of drugs again, "but I haven't met the person yet whom I couldn't break."

Falk examined the man's notes and arched an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you should be using real images? If he realizes they are real, then it could break the seal on his memory, couldn't it?"

"Relax," Schaefer laughed easily, "He's so confused from the drugs, he won't be able to tell what's real. Give me a little longer and I'll have him as broken as that pretty little Kuchiki you gave me before. I almost regret shattering him, but he had mountains of pain in his past for me to use. He had nothing left to fight with once he didn't remember the cousin he so valued protecting. Ginger has his weaknesses too. And given some time, I'll find them."

Falk frowned and placed a staying hand on his.

"No," he said quietly, "not yet."

"Sir?" Schaefer inquired curiously.

"I think we need to weaken him physically first," Falk said, his eyes glinting, "Free him from the box and take him down below. I think it's time...he met _the beast_!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Kit peeked into Shadow's room and spotted the young man still curled up and sleeping in his bed. Frowning at the oddity, he slipped into the room on silent feet and made his way to the bed. He found Shadow curled around his pillow, facing away, little shivers going through him.

"Hey," Kit said reaching out to touch him, "What're you still doin' in bed? You waiting for me to...?"

He stiffened as his hand touched the back of Shadow's shoulder and the young man lurched away, throwing himself against the wall and making an exclamation of surprise and fear.

"Whoa! Hey, it's just me," Kit said, holding up his hands in a defensive position, "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

He broke off again as he spotted the streams of tears running down Shadow's white face.

"K-kit!" he managed in a soft, broken voice.

"What is it?" the blue-haired man asked, moving closer, "Shadow, what's wrong? You still feeling sick?"

"Mmhmm," Shadow answered, sliding a hand down to rub his belly, "Kit, I don't know what's wrong with me! I threw up again...and I keep feeling dizzy. I don't want to tell _him_! I'm scared of what he'll do. Maybe something was already done to me! I don't know. I just..."

"It's okay," Kit assured him, "You know that we'll be going to the Underground tonight. We can ask someone there without the guards hearing."

"What if they don't let me go?" Shadow asked warily.

"Why wouldn't they let you go? You haven't been in trouble, have you?"

"L-last night," Shadow confessed shakily, "Kit, please don't get mad!"

"What happened?" Kit asked, his blue eyes narrowing, "Did someone mess with you?"

"I was...sick," Shadow explained, "I told you...I was coming back here to rest. But the guard, Arnell, followed me into my room and he...he tried to..."

"Mother... _FUCKER_!"

"Kit, don't get mad!"

"Don't get _mad_?" Kit hissed, "The bastard, did he...?"

"He was stopped," Shadow sniffed.

"By who?"

"G-ginger. He ran in and I called to him for help. He knocked Arnell off of me and started hitting and kicking him. He made him bleed."

"Damn," Kit said, looking impressed, "Maybe he's not such an asshole after all."

"Kit, they knocked him out and took him away!"

"And he isn't in his room or in the common room today," Kit mused.

"You know what that means!" Shadow sobbed, "They're doing something horrible to him! And it's all because he was trying to help me!"

"Shh, it's okay. It's not your fault," Kit said, curling an arm around him and kissing him into uneasy silence.

"B-but Arnell lied and said that G-ginger tried to rape me! And I was too afraid to say anything."

"You were right not to say anything."

"I tried to lie and say that I invited Ginger to touch me, but Doctor Falk wouldn't let me take any of the blame."

"Capital guy," Kit said sarcastically, "You do know you can't trust him, right."

"I know. But trusting him, not trusting him, it didn't matter. He...t-told me to relax, and he gave me a pill he said was for pain. But..."

"What did that freak do to you?" Kit growled.

"Kit, you can't do anything to him! He'll only have you hurt or killed too, and then I'll be _alone_ here!"

Kit paused, noting his lover's devastated expression, then let out a frustrated breath.

"You just want me to let that son of a bitch rape you and get away with it?" Kit hissed furiously.

"Sometimes we don't have a choice if we want to survive. Please Kit. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. Don't do anything. Just..."

"Okay," Kit sighed resignedly, slipping his hand into Shadow's and coaxing him to his feet, "C'mon."

"Where are we going?"

Kit gave him a little, suggestive smirk.

"A _walk in the gardens_?" he suggested slyly, "so I can make you forget about them?"

Shadow gave him a sweet, helpless smile and nodded.

"You go on," Kit urged him, "I'll meet you behind the bushes on the far side."

Shadow walked into his bathroom and washed his face, then found a fresh yukata and walked out to the common room. He paused and watched for a moment as Buzzard and Tats started a game of strip poker, then he blushed and skittered away, heading out into the gardens and meandering slowly along the trail. The gentle warmth of the sun and the soft buzzing of bees and chirping of birds soothed his tattered nerves, and he was smiling as he reached the far end of the garden and moved out of the line of sight of the nearest guard. He slipped in behind the bushes and waited quietly, listening for the little sounds that would precede the arrival of his lover.

Even as closely as he listened, Kit pounced on him and took him by surprise. He quelled a little yelp and hugged the blue-haired man tightly, returning his kisses passionately. Kit opened their yukatas and backed the slighter man up against the stone wall, running his hands all over Shadow's pale flesh and making the painful memories melt away with each touch. He guided a slim, graceful hand to the odd hole in his midsection, looking down into Shadow's much happier eyes as he allowed him to touch and explore where no one else ever dared. Kit lowered himself onto his knees, pulling Shadow down onto his lap, kissing and cuddling as his fingers carefully prepared him for a sweet, forbidden joining.

"Why do you love me?" Shadow asked, looking into Kit's aggressive blue eyes through wider, gentler ones, "You're so strong...so beautiful...so powerful. Shouldn't you be with someone else like you? I couldn't stand up to them. I couldn't fight them. I can't even hate them like you do. I just wish they weren't so evil. You at least have the courage to put up a fight."

"You're not weak," Kit chided him, "You just know there's nothing you can do right now. Your best move is to be obedient until they give you that one, unexpected opportunity. Then, you're gonna take that and you're gonna get away from them. You be quiet, stay outta trouble and just wait for that moment."

"And how do you know that moment will come? How do you know, Kit?" Shadow asked sadly.

"You'll feel it," Kit answered, beginning a slow, gentle entry, "You know how you were telling me that when I climax inside you, you feel like my strength is pouring into your body?"

"Mmhmm," Shadow answered, closing his eyes and moving with his lover.

"The moment will come," Kit whispered into his ear, "when you feel that strength pour into you because you'll see there is something you can do, something you can affect with your actions. You'll take that chance and change your fate. You will, Shadow. And when you're out of here, that power you have? It's gonna come back. And you'll never, ever let yourself become a prisoner again."

"You say that like you really know."

"Yeah? Well, I do know. I know you have a strength in you that it's just not time to use. Keep it safe and choose your moment."

Kit closed his eyes and held onto Shadow's bottom, licking and nibbling at the slighter man's slender throat and naked shoulder as they made love. They made sure they were kissing when their pleasure overtook them and carefully stifled their sounds of completion. They collapsed onto the blanket of plum and sakura blossoms that littered the ground, panting heatedly and exchanging a flurry of finishing kisses, then calmed and laid, looking up into the darkening sky.

"I love you, Kit," Shadow whispered, "I hope that when we get away, you always stay with me."

"Are you kidding? Where the hell am I gonna go? Neither one of us knows who we really are or where we came from. Of course we'll stay together."

He stole a final kiss, then left Shadow resting quietly under the tree and stole back into the brush. Shadow waited until darkness had fallen completely, then slipped out of the bushes and back onto the trail, just as a guard came out of the common room, looking around for him.

"There you are," the guard chided him, "Get inside. You never know what trouble you'll get into, out in the dark."

Shadow walked back into the common room, pretending not to see Kit sitting with Buzzard and Tats, and deeply involved in a game involving dice. He curled up on the sofa, near where Brains sat, watching television and muttering softly.

"Only way out's to disappear. Gotta disappear to get outta here," Brains mumbled.

Shadow stole a glance at him, then picked up a magazine and pretended to read.

"I used to be able to disappear," he whispered, just loud enough for Brains to hear, "That's what Kit told me. Do you think I can make that power work again? I have tried, but I just feel pain when I try. Maybe I just don't know how...or maybe I can't do it anymore."

Shadow continued to feign reading, and after a moment, Brains bowed his head lower and spoke more softly.

"A seal unsealed, appeal repealed. It's all from the core. Let it go."

"The core," Shadow repeated, closing his eyes and thinking carefully.

He considered quietly as Brains went back to his musings, barely hearing the call to the evening meal.

"Would you like to sit with me?" Sakura said from behind him.

Shadow turned and gave the grey-eyed man a pleased smile.

"You look much better, Sakura, and I'd be glad to sit with you."

The two left the common room and entered the dining room together, parting for a short time to pass through the line and fill their food trays. They reconvened at a little table in the corner of the room, while Buzzard and Tats snapped at each other and sat in different places and Kit stalked off to sit by himself as well.

"Everyone is so friendly tonight," Sakura said, looking amused, "They are doing a good job of looking like they don't like each other."

"I just wonder what good it will do," Shadow sighed, "It's not good that Ginger still hasn't been brought back. I worry about what they are doing to him."

"It will be all right," Sakura assured him, "Ginger is strong and smart. He will be fine. I really believe that."

"I just want him to come back safely," Shadow said sadly, "He got in trouble saving me."

"He was very reckless," Sakura noted, "but his heart was in the right place."

"I hope they don't hurt him too badly."

Sakura gave him a long, measured look, then took his hand.

"I've just heard he has been moved to the Underground," he said finally.

"The Underground?" Shadow repeated, looking alarmed, "Sakura!"

"Shh," Sakura soothed him, "I know it isn't good, but they won't let him be killed. They just want to wear him down. We will be here to help him when he comes back. Like he said, we'll all help each other...until we are freed."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginger woke with a start and found he was no longer in the box, but had been moved to what appeared to be a small chamber within a huge cave, with rock walls on three sides and bars on the other. He heard odd clanks, deep growls and snarls, mingled with low, gruff voices.

"What the hell..." he mused, sitting up and scratching the back of his neck, "Where am I?"

The other confining caves were slightly staggered, and some had strong, steel doors that were heavily locked.

"Let me guess," he whispered, shivering, "This must be the underground."

 _There's only one reason I know of that they would send me here._

He moved to the bars and peered out to the left and right, seeing nothing in the adjacent cave on one side and studying the sturdy steel door on the other. His eye moved on and focused on a name written in what appeared to be blood on the area beside the door.

"The Beast," he whispered, staring and feeling a sinking feeling inside, "Damn..."


End file.
